Easy-to-get-into colleges with high graduate salaries
Four-year colleges that admit at least three in four applicants, ranked by what their former students earn ten years after starting.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard and IPEDS, latest data · 693 colleges · Last updated November 15, 2026 · Next check November 16, 2026
Ranked first
$105,475
California State University Maritime Academy (California), median earnings ten years after entry.
College Scorecard, latest data
Key findings
- Median qualifying college
- $59,134
- Median earnings ten years after entry.
- Colleges that qualify
- 693
- The top 50 are listed below.
- States
- 50
- 325 public and 368 private nonprofit colleges.
693 four-year colleges in 50 states meet every criterion on this page.
California State University Maritime Academy (California) ranks first, with median earnings of $105,475 ten years after entry.
The median qualifying college has median earnings of $59,134 ten years after entry.
325 qualifying colleges are public and 368 private nonprofit.
College by college
The ranking
Ranked by median earnings ten years after entry, highest first. Select a column heading to sort.
| California State University Maritime AcademyCalifornia · Public | 1 | 95% | $105,475 | $17,793 | 58% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Maritime AcademyMassachusetts · Public | 2 | 95% | $104,098 | $23,759 | 73% |
| Kettering University-MichiganMichigan · Private nonprofit | 3 | 79% | $96,136 | $29,797 | 74% |
| Wentworth Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 4 | 91% | $94,995 | $30,134 | 63% |
| Manhattan CollegeNew York · Private nonprofit | 5 | 79% | $92,904 | $25,074 | 68% |
| Clarkson University-New YorkNew York · Private nonprofit | 6 | 77% | $92,494 | $32,137 | 72% |
| Drexel UniversityPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 7 | 79% | $92,338 | $37,529 | 78% |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-PrescottArizona · Private nonprofit | 8 | 77% | $92,069 | $38,102 | 69% |
| Loyola University MarylandMaryland · Private nonprofit | 9 | 75% | $90,179 | $34,082 | 75% |
| Dominican University of CaliforniaCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 10 | 84% | $90,053 | $35,567 | 73% |
| Gonzaga UniversityWashington · Private nonprofit | 11 | 82% | $89,110 | $32,750 | 85% |
| Molloy CollegeNew York · Private nonprofit | 12 | 82% | $86,212 | $26,735 | 69% |
| Saint Joseph's UniversityPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 13 | 89% | $85,980 | $33,840 | 81% |
| University of PortlandOregon · Private nonprofit | 14 | 89% | $85,634 | $28,803 | 81% |
| University of ScrantonPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 15 | 81% | $85,590 | $32,132 | 82% |
| Seattle UniversityWashington · Private nonprofit | 16 | 77% | $84,728 | $34,324 | 71% |
| Michigan Technological UniversityMichigan · Public | 17 | 92% | $84,681 | $13,446 | 70% |
| Wagner CollegeNew York · Private nonprofit | 18 | 88% | $84,179 | $30,038 | 62% |
| Marquette UniversityWisconsin · Private nonprofit | 19 | 81% | $83,810 | $30,561 | 79% |
| Saint Mary's College of CaliforniaCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 20 | 87% | $83,501 | $32,200 | 67% |
| San Jose State UniversityCalifornia · Public | 21 | 85% | $83,493 | $14,241 | 68% |
| University of Washington-Bothell CampusWashington · Public | 22 | 91% | $83,105 | $13,802 | 68% |
| University of Washington-Tacoma CampusWashington · Public | 23 | 83% | $83,105 | $11,900 | 60% |
| Saint Anselm CollegeNew Hampshire · Private nonprofit | 24 | 78% | $83,058 | $34,382 | 80% |
| University of St Thomas-MinnesotaMinnesota · Private nonprofit | 25 | 85% | $82,322 | $31,532 | 74% |
| Colorado State University GlobalColorado · Public | 26 | 98% | $82,047 | $17,732 | 26% |
| Duquesne UniversityPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 27 | 84% | $81,698 | $37,704 | 76% |
| The Catholic University of AmericaDistrict of Columbia · Private nonprofit | 28 | 83% | $81,308 | $32,543 | 76% |
| Western New England UniversityMassachusetts · Private nonprofit | 29 | 83% | $81,107 | $27,077 | 64% |
| Linfield College-McMinnville CampusOregon · Private nonprofit | 30 | 85% | $81,101 | $24,882 | 62% |
| University of RedlandsCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 31 | 83% | $80,659 | $30,924 | 65% |
| Creighton UniversityNebraska · Private nonprofit | 32 | 80% | $80,642 | $32,456 | 83% |
| Regis University-ColoradoColorado · Private nonprofit | 33 | 86% | $79,971 | $18,133 | 55% |
| George Mason UniversityVirginia · Public | 34 | 87% | $79,923 | $14,697 | 66% |
| Saint Johns University-MinnesotaMinnesota · Private nonprofit | 35 | 91% | $79,644 | $26,748 | 71% |
| South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologySouth Dakota · Public | 36 | 80% | $78,487 | $20,827 | 52% |
| Loyola University ChicagoIllinois · Private nonprofit | 37 | 82% | $78,431 | $36,340 | 72% |
| Oregon Institute of TechnologyOregon · Public | 38 | 95% | $78,398 | $17,499 | 46% |
| Thomas Jefferson UniversityPennsylvania · Private nonprofit | 39 | 81% | $78,311 | $25,555 | 71% |
| University of Massachusetts-LowellMassachusetts · Public | 40 | 83% | $77,989 | $17,362 | 69% |
| New York Institute of TechnologyNew York · Private nonprofit | 41 | 81% | $77,833 | $22,613 | 59% |
| California Lutheran UniversityCalifornia · Private nonprofit | 42 | 76% | $77,620 | $26,445 | 69% |
| University of Colorado Boulder Main CampusColorado · Public | 43 | 78% | $77,574 | $23,708 | 74% |
| California State Polytechnic University-PomonaCalifornia · Public | 44 | 75% | $77,464 | $9,404 | 68% |
| Pace UniversityNew York · Private nonprofit | 45 | 76% | $77,411 | $30,721 | 56% |
| St. John's University-New YorkNew York · Private nonprofit | 46 | 83% | $77,281 | $24,508 | 69% |
| University of DenverColorado · Private nonprofit | 47 | 78% | $77,205 | $31,961 | 74% |
| Roger Williams UniversityRhode Island · Private nonprofit | 48 | 88% | $77,127 | $37,645 | 67% |
| Iona CollegeNew York · Private nonprofit | 49 | 87% | $76,994 | $26,250 | 59% |
| Bradley UniversityIllinois · Private nonprofit | 50 | 77% | $76,013 | $22,469 | 73% |
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Use this for your family
These are medians. Your price and payback depend on your income, your state and the college, so run the numbers for the colleges on your list.
Methodology
- Colleges counted
- Every college published on CollegesRef that is public or private nonprofit, in a four-year Carnegie class (doctoral, master's or baccalaureate), in the 50 states or D.C., with at least 500 undergraduates and both figures reported in the College Scorecard.
- Criteria
- This list keeps four-year colleges that admit at least 75% of applicants, then ranks them by median earnings ten years after entry. Closed colleges are left out.
3 more notes: exclusions, definitions, what it leaves out
- Exclusions
- For-profit colleges, two-year colleges, special-focus institutions, colleges with fewer undergraduates than the minimum, U.S. territories and colleges missing either figure are left out. Earnings figures without a federal reporting year are excluded.
- Definitions
- Median earnings are former students' earnings ten years after entry (College Scorecard MD_EARN_WNE_P10). Average net price is cost of attendance minus average grants for aided first-time, full-time students (NPT4). Median debt is federal loan debt at graduation (GRAD_DEBT_MDN). Graduation rate is the IPEDS rate reported in the Scorecard.
- What it leaves out
- A ranking on federal figures says nothing about teaching, fit or programs. Earnings are before tax and not specific to a major; prices are averages, so your family's price depends on its income and the college's aid.
Read the CollegesRef methodology for how college data is checked, or browse all data stories.
Sources
- Data
- U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports these figures from the IPEDS surveys and federal student aid records; Carnegie classes from IPEDS.
- Edition
- 2026–27, data verified Nov 2026
- Source data
- Latest College Scorecard release
- Last updated
- November 15, 2026
- Next check
- November 16, 2026. The figures are recomputed weekly and change only when the federal data does.
- License
- Federal data is a U.S. government work in the public domain. CollegesRef's tables, charts and CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.
- Downloads
- CSVMarkdown (for AI tools)
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about how the numbers work.
How is this list ranked?
CollegesRef keeps four-year colleges that admit at least 75% of applicants, and ranks them by median earnings ten years after entry, highest first. 693 colleges qualify; the top 50 are shown and the CSV holds the same rows.
Which college ranks first?
California State University Maritime Academy (California, public), with median earnings ten years after entry of $105,475. The median qualifying college reports $59,134.
Where does the data come from?
The U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (latest data), which reports IPEDS cost and graduation figures and federal earnings and debt records. CollegesRef recomputes the list weekly from the latest snapshot.
How to cite
Credit CollegesRef and link to this story; the CSV above carries every figure on this page. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a visible link to this page. Questions go to Data and press.
Related guides and tools
Step-by-step explanations of the figures, written from the same federal data.